CURRENCY DROUGHT leaves mandis deserted

Hardly any soyabean or maize has been traded in Madhya Pradesh since November 9, as traders are unable to pay farmers, labourers and transporters.Madhvi Sally | ET Bureau | November 16, 2016, 08:55 IST

Agricultural markets in India saw lack lustre trade on Tuesday as farmers struggled to cope with scarcity of currency notes. Trade in grains, spices and oilseeds narrowed to a trickle.

Hardly any soyabean or maize has been traded in Madhya Pradesh since November 9, as traders are unable to pay farmers, labourers and transporters, Gopal Das Agarwal, state president of the Madhya Pradesh Grain Pulses and Oilseed Traders Association, said. The state has over 400 mandis. “Transporters and labourers are not accepting cheques. Even kirana stores are unable to do business as change is not available. Purchasing power of consumers has fallen. So, how can business run?“ he said.

Onion supply from the state had stopped, said Abid Ali, a trader from Ghazipur mandi.

Similarly, onion and potato trade in Hubli and adjoining mandis in Karnataka have stopped since November 11, said Kuber Jituri, a trader from Hubli. He said trade was slow even at Bengaluru mandi, while the Belgaum market was likely to be closed for a few days as traders don't have the money to pay . “We have asked farmers not to bring produce to the mandi,“ he said.

Meanwhile, in Gujarat, cotton and groundnut mandis were closed, says former Gujarat agriculture minister Dilip Sanghani.“I will be meeting minister of state for finance, Santosh Kumar Gangwar to raise the issue of money supply and exchange of demonetised notes in district central cooperative banks, which is not happening now,“ he said.

In Delhi's Azadpur mandi, supplies of pomegranate and grapes are expected to slow down and trade may stop for the next few days, said Parveen Bagai, a trader.This is because of lack of supplies from Maharashtra.“Mandis in Maharashtra like Pandharpur, Rahata, Indapur, Jat, Nashik, Sholapur mandis are closed, so arrival of pomegranates is less.From 40 trucks today , we are anticipating just 5 trucks of 15 tonne each tomorrow and after that, there may not be any arrival till next week,“ he said.